Glorious Glosters: Memories of the brutal Korean War

During the brutal and bloody Korean War, veteran Sam Mercer lost his sight in one eye, fought Chinese soldiers, became a prisoner of war and was so badly wounded that his leg was amputated.

The former Company Infantryman with 1st Battalion The Gloucestershire Regiment, known as the "Glorious Glosters", joined Hal Stewart on Forces Radio BFBS in 2017 to mark the 67th anniversary of the Korean War.

During the conversation, which took place four years before Mr Mercer's death in January 2021, the veteran shared his incredible story, including memories of Lt Philip Curtis, who was posthumously awarded a Victoria Cross for his actions during the attempt to retake Castle Hill.

He said: "There was a sleeping bag on the hill, we gently pushed his body into it, said a prayer, and left him.

"There's never time in those circumstances to bury your dead; you can't."

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Mr Mercer also said he wouldn't change a thing about his military service because he met the love of his life.

He said, "When I say she was a lovely lady, that's an underestimate.

"I can't be grateful enough to her for what she did, I'm a very lucky man."

The Glorious Glosters, whose motto was "by our deeds we are known", were forced into a far-off conflict, which arose from a division of Korea in 1950 between the Communist North and the democratic state of South Korea.

China and the Soviet Union supported the North, while the South had a United Nations Force led by the United States.

More than 700 Glosters fought in the gruelling Battle of Imjin.

A third were killed or wounded and hundreds were taken prisoner.

Sam, who was made a member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, spoke about that time in his life, saying: "We were told that we were for active service in the Far East.

"We found out that it was Korea and people said, 'Korea? Where the hell's that?'.

"We were just going from pillar to post."

Mr Mercer described to Hal the devastating events that took place between 22 and 25 April 1951 during which 750 men from the Glorious Glosters were outnumbered and eventually surrounded by Chinese forces on Hill 235, an area of land that became known as Gloster Hill.

In the heat of the battle, Sam was defending a strategic route to Seoul.

He said: "I think the Chinese had expected to just simply carve a way straight through us.

"They hadn't expected us to resist... as long as we did. Yes, we upset their timetable."

Mr Mercer had resisted capture as long as he could manage but eventually, the Chinese overpowered the Glosters with mortar rounds.

He said: "It took the sight out of my eye straight away, the shrapnel in my leg.

"That obviously was the end of my part in the battle.

"I rapidly became tail-end Charlie, couldn't keep up."

After two and a half years in captivity, Sam finally returned to the UK following a period of treatment from the American allies.

He said: "The day I was released they took us in an ambulance down to an airstrip, into a helicopter, never been so frightened in all my life, I'd never seen one before.

"After all I'd been through I thought I was going to have my head cut off by a rotor."

Korea has been dubbed The Forgotten War because it fell between the Second World War and the Vietnam War.

The sacrifice of all who served in Korea is sadly often overlooked.

Mr Mercer fondly remembered the time when an incredible love story began on D Ward at Queen Mary's Hospital in Roehampton with his wife Audrey, who sadly passed away from liver cancer.

He said: "She smiled at me over her face mask and I was smitten, I was done for.

"As soon as I was established on my first limb I went courting and the following year we were married."

The Korean War lasted three years, and it was intense and bloody.

Hal asked Mr Mercer about his reflections on the conflict.

He said: "My feelings are it was a job that had to be done.

"Alright we upset the Russians, we probably upset the Chinese too but we had a job to do and we did it and I think personally that we did it rather well."

This article was originally published in 2017.